“Yoseob Sunbae?”

“What are you doing here?”, he asked.

I crossed my arms. “Shouldn't I be the one asking this question? After all, I'm part of this show. What's your excuse?”

“Excuse?”, he asked and smirked. “Well, my excuse is that I'm also part of this show. At least for tomorrow's broadcast.”

“Huh?”

“The boys and me, we're performing tomorrow.”

“You mean, the other boys are here, too?”

“Yeah, they are in their rooms right now, sleeping.”

“But you never told me that you were going to perform at the show.”, I said and pouted.

“Because until this morning, I didn't know either.” He must have noticed my confused expression because he added: “We've been in Japan until yesterday evening. When we came back to Korea, they added this event to our schedule. Apparently 4minute was supposed to perform tomorrow but they couldn't make it. So it seems like we're filling in.”

“You went straight to this place right after arriving in Korea?”

“Yeah.”

Jeez. How could they add this to their schedule, even though they just arrived in Korea? The boys weren't machines!

“Why aren't you taking a rest like your members?”, I asked.

He shrugged. “I couldn't sleep.”

“Then why not joining the party instead of sitting out here on your own?”

“I just don't feel like partying right now. I intended to get some fresh air out here and enjoy the beautiful view before going back to my room.” He smirked. “Though I did not plan on meeting you here.”

“Well, me neither. But I'm glad that we did. I haven't seen you in a while.”

Especially because you have been avoiding me.

“Yeah, we've been kinda busy lately.”

“I've noticed.”, I said dryly.

He sighed. “Ha Ni, I think we -”

Before he could finish his sentence, the door opened and Wooyoung joined us on the terrace.

”Ha Ni? Are you here?”, he asked while looking around. When he found me, he added: “Can we talk? There's something I want....”

He trailed off when his gaze settled on Yoseob. All kinds of emotions flickered through his face: first shock, then confusion, and in the end, fury was written all over his face. One moment, he was standing next to the door and the next moment, he was beside me, grabbing Yoseob by his collar and pressing him against the wall. All this happened way too fast for me to react.

“How dare you appear in front of me.”, Wooyoung said, menace dripping from his voice. The hand, which was grabbing Yoseob's collar, tightened.

Yoseob didn't even defend himself. His arms were hanging loose on his sides. He kept looking at Wooyoung with a blank expression. I couldn't help but gasp. His eyes quickly flicked towards me and I could see the question in them.

Did you tell him?

Feeling guilty, I lowered my gaze. When I looked up again, Yoseob's eyes were re-focused on Wooyoung.

“You were my friend! How could you betray me like that?”, Woyoung asked, shoving Yoseob against the wall again.

I winced. “Oppa, please stop.”, I pleaded with Wooyoung.

It was Yoseob who spoke up. “Ha Ni, you should head back to the dining room. This is between him and me.”

“Bull! This is all my fault, so I'm staying.” I took a step towards Wooyoung. “Please, Oppa, you don't want to do this.”

Wooyoung smirked but his gaze remained on Yoseob. “Oh, but I do want to do this.”

“Oppa, please...”

“Ha Ni, enough.”, Yoseob said.

Wooyoung shoved him against the wall again. “Stop. talking. to. her.”, he said slowly. “So.....how was it like to kiss her, huh? To kiss the girlfriend of your friend? Did you enjoy it?”

What the heck? What was he trying to achieve with these questions? I really wanted to interfere but I was scared that Wooyoung would hurt Yoseob even more.

“That kiss didn't mean anything to me. It was an accident.”, Yoseob said calmly.

Well, ouch.

Wooyoung narrowed his eyes. “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Do you think that everything will be okay just because you say that it was an accident?”

“No. I know that I was wrong. And I'm really sorry.” He paused. “It was all my fault, Hyung. Don't punish Ha Ni for my mistake.”

Huh? What was he talking about? I was the one who initiated the kiss. Why was he lying? Oh my gosh...don't tell me....was he trying to protect me?

“All your fault, huh?” Wooyoung turned to me. “Is that true, Ha Ni? Is he the only one at fault?”

I glanced at Yoseob. He was looking directly at me, telling me with his eyes to go along with his statement. But I couldn't. I just couldn't put all the blame on him.

“No, it is all my fault.

Wooyoung smiled. That smile gave me the creeps. "Aaaww how sweet. You guys are sticking up for each other." Then his creepy smile vanished and was replaced by a blank expression. "It's so sweet that it's making me puke."

"Wooyoung Oppa..."

His head whipped around to glare at me. "No, Ha Ni, I have enough of your lies and excuses." His glare moved back to Yoseob. "All I want is to smash the face of the guy who stole my girl!"

When I saw him raising his fist, I began to panic. I moved towards them, intending to interfere, but a hand on my shoulder held me back. Looking behind me, I saw Seungho standing there with Jihoon and Jay. Where the heck did they come from?

"That's enough, Wooyoung.", Seungho said calmly.

Wooyoung kept looking at Yoseob. "That's none of your business, Hyung."

"You're not thinking clearly right now. Back off, now it's not the time for this. The dining room is filled with media people. You know what will happen if you start a fight now."

Wooyoung's fist still hovered in the air near Yoseob's face. "He betrayed me!"

"I know, Wooyoung.", he said.

Wooyoung turned to Seungho. "You know?"

"I was told yesterday."

"So you understand why there's no way I can resist the urge to punch him?"

"Wooyoung, you are drunk. You aren't thinking clearly right now."

He was drunk? I turned to him. Oh my gosh, why didn't I notice this earlier? His face was flushed and his eyes were watery. Yes, he was detinitely drunk. That would explain his unreasonable actions.

"Sunbae, please. Don't do it.", Jay pleaded.

Wooyoung's grip on Yoseob's collar tightened but his fist started shaking. All the while, I held my breath. This was really going out of control. I had to do something. But what? Wooyoung would never listen to me right now. He wouldn't even listen to Seungho. But no matter what, we had to stop him before he could cause a scene.

When he took down his fist, I let out a relieved sigh. But his grab on Yoseob's collar remained.

"You're lucky that we have a big audience right now. The next time I see you, you won't be so lucky." He gave Yoseob an evil grin. "Did you enjoy the kiss with my girl? Because I'm gonna make you regret it."

I gasped at the hidden threat. What did he plan to do to Yoseob?

Suddenly I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. Glancing up, I saw Seungho looking at me. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."

I gave him a small smile. "Thank you."

Wooyoung gave Yoseob one last glare, then he abruptly let go of him. Walking towards us, he stopped in front of me. I felt the movement behind me. Seems like Jay and Jihoon came closer to us, stopping right behind me and Seungho. And judging by the way Seungho was squeezing my shoulder, it wasn't hard to guess what they were thinking. They were afraid that Wooyoung was going to hurt me.

"Now look at that, Ha Ni.", Wooyoung said and smirked at me. "Your knights are afraid that I'm going to hurt you."

"Will you?", I asked quietly.

I saw movement behind Wooyoung. Yoseob was slowly walking towards us.

No, no, no! Don't come here. Don't provoke him.

When I looked back at Wooyoung, I was taken aback by the sadness in his eyes. "No, I would never hurt you."

Hearing the sadness in his voice and seeing it in his eyes, broke my heart all over again. I would never forgive myself for being the cause of his sadness.

Just when I wanted to apologize, his face went blank again. Oh, how I hated this blank face!

"Though I can't say the same about you, huh?", he asked me, acid dripping from his voice.

I was rendered speechless. Seungho gave my shoulder another squeeze. "Enough, Wooyoung. Let me accompany you to your room. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow. You need to be fit."

"I am fit.", he said, while his gaze remained on Seungho's hand on my shoulder.

"No, you're not. And tomorrow you'll agree with me. Now let's go.", Seungho said and lifted his hand from my shoulder. Then he went towards Wooyoung and put his arm around his shoulder, pulling him towards the door. But Wooyoung wouldn't budge. His eyes were fixed on me and I tried hard not to look away. When he smirked and reached out, I flinched. Seungho must've done anything because Wooyoung said: "Relax, Hyung, I just want to say goodnight to her."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. I tensed when I felt his warm breath on my cheek. Oh my gosh, his breath smelled like alcohol.

"You switch from one guy to another, huh? Well, I can see that you have many to choose from. Who's next after Yoseob? Will you play around with one of your Trainee friends standing behind you right now?"

I gave him a horrified look when he stepped back, smirking at me.

What the heck?

"What did you say to her?", Seungho asked.

"Nothing, Hyung. I was just telling her to have sweet dreams."

Seungho gave him a disbelieving look but didn't say anything else.

"Sunbae, shall we? People will start to notice our absence.", Jihoon said.

Seungho nodded. "I know. Come on, let's go.", he said and pulled Wooyoung with him. Jay and Jihoon followed them. When they were gone, I rushed to Yoseob. He was leaning against the wall, his hand on his throat while his eyes were closed.

"You okay?", I asked hesitanly.

He opened his eyes and looked at me. "Yeah. Go to sleep, Ha Ni. It's late."

"Are you kidding me? You seriously think I can go to sleep now? That's all my fault that he attacked like this!"

"No, it's not!", he shouted, causing me to flinch. Then he took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout at you.", he said softly.

"It's okay, I deserve that." I took another step towards him . "Now let me see, did he hurt you? Or why are you holding your throat like that?"

"It's nothing."

"Nonsense. Let me see.", I said, slowly pulling his hand away from his throat. When I saw a trickle of blood, I gasped. "Oh my gosh, you are bleeding!"

"It's just a small cut.", he said and put his hand back on his throat.

"Small cut? The heck! Wait, I should have a tissue in my pockets.", I said. When I finally found it, I pulled his hand away again and pressed the tissue on the cut.

"How did this happen? I thought he was just grabbing your collar."

Yoseob sighed. "His ring cut me."

Seeing the blood on his throat, I couldn't help but feel guilty. All this wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been gushing over Yoseob while I was dating Wooyoung. He wouldn't have been hurt if I had been strong enough to resist the urge to kiss him on that day. Wooyoung wouldn't have to go through all this if I hadn't been so selfish. It all led back to me.

“Don't do this.”, he said softly, pulling me out of my thoughts. I was so caught up in my guilt, that I didn't noticed that he has put his hand on my hand, which covering his cut with the tissue.

“Do what?”, I asked hoarsely. He was only touching my hand but it felt like my whole body was lit up by that one simple touch.

When his was looking at me, I could see concern in his eyes. “Don't blame yourself.” Just when I was about to retort, he added: “Don't deny it. I can see it in your eyes, Ha Ni.” He sighed. “Is there any way to convince you that you're not the one to blame but me?”

I had enough. “So you're allowed to blame yourself but I'm not? I was the one who forced the kiss on you, not the other way around!”

He snorted. “You think you could've 'forced' a kiss on me? Wow, way to undermine my male ego.”

“That's not funny, Sunbae. He could've seriously hurt you today.”

“No, he wouldn't.”

“Well, it sure looked like that to me a while ago. He would've punched you, if Seungho Oppa had not interfered.”

“He was my friend. My hyung. And I've betrayed his trust, Ha Ni. It's his right to be hurt.”

“Then he should hit me, too. I've also betrayed his trust.”

He let out a frustrated sigh. “It's not too late to mend things. I know that he still loves you and I can see in your eyes that you do, too. Don't let this chance pass, Ha Ni. You will regret it later on.”

What the heck? Who was he to tell me what I was feeling? To tell me what I was supposed to do?

I didn't know where this anger was suddenly coming from, but his words made me furious.

“You don't know me at all.”, I said dryly.

I could feel his hand tense on mine. All the concern, which has been in his eyes, on his face, vanished and his usual controlled mask was back on. I immediately regretted my words.

“You're right. I don't know you at all.”, he said coldly. Then he lifted my hand from his throat, pulling the tissue away. The cut wasn't bleeding anymore but there was smeared blood all over his throat.

He pulled away from the wall and stepped past me. “Go to sleep, Ha Ni. Tomorrow's gonna be a long day.”

And there he was again. The frustratingly controlled Yoseob. Whenever I took a step too far, he closed up on me, all earlier emotions gone in an instant.

“Yeah, I guess.”, I said.

“Take the other exit through the terrace. Maybe it's better not to go through the dining room again. You go first, I'll follow in five minutes.”

I was feeling suddenly too tired too argue with him right now. “Okay. Whatever.”, I said and went towards the exit he was pointing at earlier. Just when I was about to leave, he called my name. I stopped abruptly and turned around while my heart skipped a bit. “Yeah?”

He was silent for amoment, as if he was considering what to say. In the end he just said: “Goodnight, Ha Ni.”

“Yeah, goodnight to you too, Sunbae.”, I said, feeling kinda disappointed. Then I turned around and rushed away.

When I was finally back in the room I was sharing with the other trainees, I jumped into my bed and snuggled into my blanket. I didn't even bother to change clothes. All I wanted was to stop thinking about what happned earlier. About what was going on with my broken relationship with Wooyoung, my confusing feelings for Yoseob, my very own family drama.....just everything troublesome in my life right now. Add all this to the nervousness because of tomorrow's competition and you have a person on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Before my thoughts could go further, I heard someone entering the room.

“Ha Ni? You here?”, Trish asked.

Sighing, I pulled the blanket from my head. “I'm here.”

“You okay?”, she asked when she sat down on my bed.

“Why are you asking?”

“I....uh...kinda....heard what happened at the terrace. Well, part of it.”

Oh, great. New fodder for the rumor mill. Just what I needed right now.

“Who else knows?”, I asked wearily.

“Just me. Oh, and Jay and Jihoon and the other people who were with you at the terrace.”

“So no one else knows? Because I'm not really up for new scandals.”

“No, as far as I know, no one else noticed what was going on on the terrace. So...what exactly happened, Ha Ni?”

“Who told you?”, I asked, obviously evading her question. The look she gave me told me that she knew exactly what I was doing.

“Jihoon was looking for you. He remembered seeing you walking towards the terrace and when he went there, he heard snippets of the 'conversation' between you, Yoseob Sunbae and Wooyoung Sunbae. He was worried, so he went straight for me. I was the one who told him to get Seungho Sunbae. Considering what I saw today, I thought you would wanted him to help you.”

Trish didn't know the whole truth but she was still right. I was very glad that Seungho came.

“So then Seungho Sunbae and Jihoon came to rescue me?”, I asked and smiled ruefully. “And why was Jay with them?”

“Uh...he was standing next to me when Jihoon approached us. When he heard that you were in trouble, he didn't hesitate. I wanted to come too but Seungho Sunbae said that it was safer for me to stay back.” She focused her gaze on me. “So, and now tell me what the heck was going on and why the heck it was 'safer' for me to stay back.”

“What exactly, do you think, was going on?”

“I don't know, that's why I'm asking you! Now stop evading my questions, Ha Ni.”

I sighed. Okay, how was I supposed to tell her what happened without telling her about all the drama involving my life right now.

Yeah, well, I couldn't.

That was why I decided to tell her everything. Okay, not everything. Just that I was dating Wooyoung until he found out that I has 'accidentally' kissed Yoseob. And that Seungho was just a very good friend, nothing more.

What I didn't expect was to see the diappointment in her face.

“So...you and Wooyoung Sunbae were dating, huh?”, she asked.

Oh snap, I totally forgot that Trish had a thing for him! She didn't hate me now, did she?

“Uh...yeah....well, not anymore.”

“And when were you going to tell me? Or did it amuse you to see me gushing over your boyfriend?”

“He is not my boyfriend, Trish, not anymore! And I couldn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you. Before today, I never would have imagined that you love him.”

“I saw the way he was looking at you, you know. I knew that there was something going on but I kept telling myself that I was imagining it. That's why I wanted you to go for Seungho Sunbae. I hoped that if you really like him, I would have been sure that I was just imagining the longing glances Wooyoung Sunbae was throwing at you when you weren't looking.”

He did what?

Trish must have noticed my surprised face. “Yeah, whenever you weren't looking, he has been glancing at you, sadness and longing written all over his face. I know it because that's exactly how I look and feel like when I'm glancing at him.”

Ah, crap. I was kinda happy to hear that it seems like Wooyoung didn't hate me completely right now but she was also making me feel guilty about it.

“I'm sorry.” I didn't know what else to say.

“Do you still love him?”

“Yes.”

“And Yoseob Sunbae?”

“It was just an accident.”

“You're evading my question again, Ha Ni.” She arched an eye brow. “And how the heck can you 'accidentally' kiss someone? I mean, did you slip and fell down on his lips or what?”

Yeah, well, I kinda managed to do that once. Though during that situation he was actually asleep. But that wasn't something she needed to know.

“Uhm, Ha Ni? I'm still waiting for your answer.”

“Uh, what?”

She let out a frustrated sigh. “Do you love Yoseob Sunbae?”

“I don't know, okay? I just don't know! It's already confusing enough for me, I don't need you to judge me.”

“I'm not judging you. I just want to understand.”

“I cheated on Wooyoung Oppa. Which makes me a piece trash. There's nothing else you need to understand.”

“But why? Has he been treating you bad? Has he been neglecting you?”

“He's always busy but I knew it before I started dating him. No, he has always been good to me.”

“Then why, Ha Ni? Why did you do it?” When I didn't answer, she said: “How do you feel about Yoseob Sunbae?”

I didn't expect that question. “I...what?”

“What do you feel when you see him? What goes through your mind?”

“Uh....” It took me a while to answer. “When I see him, my heart skips a bit. And when he gives me one of his rare smiles, it leaves me breathless. When he's not there, I miss him. And when he's ignoring me, it hurts.” Finally registering what I just said, I paused. “But that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I just admire him as my idol, my Sunbae.”

“Ha Ni, that's not admiration. That's love.”

“No, it's not. I don't love him.” I gulped. “I can't love him.”

“You can't or you don't?”

Her questions were slowly getting on my nerves. “Where's the difference, for heaven's sake?”

“If you say that you can't love him, it means that you do but something, or someone, tells you that you're not supposed to love him.” She paused. “So what is it? Can't or don't?”

“Actually, that's none of your business, Trish.”

“Oh, please. It's way too late to pull that on me. Now it's time for you to stop living in denial and start acknowledging what you really feel.”

“What's the point in admitting it? He doesn't even feel that way about me, trust me, he made that perfectly clear.”

“Ah, now I understand. You're afraid of rejection, that's why you keep telling yourself that you don't love him.”

“I don't even know him that well, so how could I possibly love him?”, I asked dryly.

“Don't you start again, Jung Ha Ni. We're way past this point.” She crossed her arms. “We've already established that you love both of them. But who do you love more?”

“No, I'm not ready for this! I have enough problems right now, I don't need this, too.”

“You can't avoid this forever. At some point, you'll have to make a decision.”

“What decision? There's nothing to decide about. Maybe I'm better off without them. I'm pretty sure they're both better off without me.”

“I'm doing my best to act neutral but you're not making this easy for me.”

Ah, right. Here she was, helping me to sort through my problems with Wooyoung and Yoseob, even though she was in love with one of them. I was such a selfish person.

“I'm sorry, Trish. We don't have to do this, you know? I can sort through this on my own.”

“No, you can't. And that's why I have to help you, it's my duty as your friend.”, she said and pouted. “And without me, you would've never admitted that you do love Yoseob Sunbae.”

“I never said -”

“Whatever. You need to sort this out as soon as possible. Especially after what happened at the terrace.”

“I know, Trish.”

“It's gonna be so awkward tomorrow.”

“You bet.”, I said and sighed.

Suddenly she stood up. “Well, you should try to sleep. I'll assure Jay and the others that you're okay, then I'll go to sleep, too.”

“Thank you, Trish. You are a good friend.” I paused. “And....uhm...I'm sorry....you know...about Wooyoung Oppa and stuff...”

She smiled ruefully. “I know, Ha Ni.” Then she turned around and left the room, without saying anything else.

I pulled the blanket back over my head and tried not to get drowned in guilt and sorrow. After what felt like an eternity, I finally fell asleep. I only woke up once when Trish came back into the room. She also went straight to bed. And when she started to cry silently into her pillow, I pretended to be asleep because I was sure that she didn't want me to know that she was crying. Needless to say, I felt even more guilty. I clutched the blanket closer to me, the pain and guilt in my heart getting stronger with every passing minute that I heard her sobs. The guilt was really suffocating. Only when she finally fell asleep, was I able to breathe normally again and only when the sun was slowly shining through the curtains, did I fell asleep.

A hand on my shoulder woke me up. It felt like I fell asleep just seconds ago, so it was no surprise that I was groggy. My whole body was complaining from waking up so early. Even my eyes didn't want to open.

“Ha Ni, ah. It's time. Wake up or you'll be late for the soundcheck.”, someone said softly.

The soundcheck? Huh? What the heck was that person talking? I knew nothing about a friggin' -

Oh my gosh!

I threw off my blanket and sat up abruptly. Okay, that was a bad idea. My head started spinning and my vision went black for a moment. I took deep breaths and when I was finally able to see again, I saw Trish standing next to my bed, a worried expression on her face. Then I noticed that the whole room was empty, except for Trish and me.

“Where is everyone else?”, I asked groggily.

“They're already doing their soundcheck.”

“What?!”, I shouted and glanced at the clock.

8am. Oh, crap. The soundcheck has started half an hour ago.

I quickly jumped out of my bed and rushed into the bathroom. When I came back into the room, Trish was sitting on my bed, waiting for me.

“Why didn't you wake me up earlier?”, I asked, while grabbing my clothes.

“I also woke up late. I didn't get much sleep last night.”, she said quietly.

With my pants halfway up my legs, I froze and looked at her. Only then did I notice that her eyes were bloodshot. She looked as tired as I felt. Seeing her like that and knowing that I was the reason for it, make the guilt even worse.

Before I could apologize again, Trish reminded me that we were late. I quickly got dressed and we both headed to the big hall where the stage was and where the competition would be held. When we arrived, we were greeted by hostile looks from some staff members. Oh crap. There went our good impressions.

Trish was immediately pulled away by the person responsible for, just like how Yunhee was for me.

Speaking of the devil, a very distressed Yunhee was heading my way.

“Where were you? The soundcheck started more than half an hour ago! We have been waiting for you!”, she said.

I winced at her harsh tone. “I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well last night, that's why I didn't hear my alarm.”

“Spare me your excuses, we need to hurry.”, she said and grabbed my hand to pull me towards the stage. I didn't see the others trainees, so it seems like they were already done with their soundcheck. And it also seems ike everyone has been waiting for Trish and me. Ah, crap.

When we went on stage, my heart stopped beating for a moment when I saw who was standing there. Dressed in casual jeans and the white V-neck I loved so much, was hotness personified and the very reason for the pain in my heart, Jang Wooyoung. Even though it wasn't very bright in this hall, he was sporting sunglasses. His arms were crossed and even though I couldn't see his eyes through the sunglasses, I knew that he was annoyed, especially judging by the grim line of his mouth.

“Wooyoung-ah, I'm so sorry that you had to wait for so long. Our silly Ha Ni just got out of bed.”, Yunhee announced when we finally approached him.

“Seems like she just forgot one of the first rules I told her: 'You may be a Rookie but never act like one.' If you want to survive in this business, you may want to change your attitude, Ha Ni.”, he scolded me.

Ashamed, I blushed and stared at my shoes. “I know. I'm sorry, it won't hppen again.”

“Well, now that you're here, let's get started. We're already behind schedule.”, Yunhee reminded us.

“It's okay, Yunhee Noona. Could you please tell the technician that we're ready?”, he asked.

Yunhee smiled brightly. “Of course! I'll be right back! You guys go ahead, and take positions on stage.”, she said and rushed off, leaving Wooyoung and me alone on stage.

“Wooyoung Oppa, about yesterday -”

He cut me off. “Take your position, Ha Ni. We don't have time for pointless chitchat.”

Pointless chitchat? What the heck? Did Mr. Grouchypants wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?

Gulping down my anger, I took position. When the music started playing, I tried to stop thinking about all my problems and just concentrate on the music. After dancing, we checked our mics by singing while dancing.

Then Wooyoung left without saying anything. Yunhee told me that he had to get ready for the competition which was about to start in one hour. I quickly checked the mics for my solo performances and then I also went towards the dressing rooms to get ready. When I arrived, I saw that the other trainees were already dressed to impress. One outfit more awesome than the other.

Yunhee led me to my own rack of outfits. And I have to admit, they were stunning. The first outfit was a long, beige and sleeveless dress. I guessed that this was for my solo singing performance/ The next outfit consisted of black harem trousers, golden sneakers and a golden top. This was definitely for my solo dance performance. When I turned to look at my last outfit, my eyes widened. This outfit consisted of a navy blue blazer with gold chains on the shoulders, a wite tops without straps, black and very short hotpants and last but not least, golden high heels. This had to be my outfit for the Troublemaker performance. But how was I supposed to dance in these shoes? And why were those hot pants so friggin' short?!

“Beautiful outfits, aren't they?”, Yunhee remarked.

Putting aside my complaints, I just said: “Yeah.”

“Well, then get dressed. Your first performance will be with Wooyoung, the second one will be your solo dancing performance and the last one will be your solo singing performance.”, she said and handed me my first outfit.

I couldn't help but stare at those ridiculously short hot pants.

Yunhee noticed my stare. “What? You don't like those pants?”

“No, it's just....well, they are so....short!”

“Duh. Hot pants are supposed to be short, dear.”

“But not that short! It's like a small piece of cloth, half my will be bared.”

Yunhee laughed. “Oh, dear, I never knew that you were so prude! You have nice legs, Ha Ni. Don't hide them with your long trousers.” With that, she turned around and walked away.

Sighing, I went into the corner of the dressing room and started changing clothes. When I was done, I sat down in front of a mirror and some staff members approached me and started applying make up on me while styling my hair at the same time. I had to admit, it felt really nice to get styled by others. You didn't have to do anything, just sit back while professionals worked their magic on you.

After what felt like an eternity, the staff members packed up their stuff and moved on to another trainee. I leaned forward and regarded myself in the mirror. I looked like a different person and yet, I still looked like myself. Huh.

“You look stunning, Ha Ni.”, someone said behind me.

I turned around to see Trish smiling at me. And gosh, she was beautiful. She has always been beautiful, but the makeup enhanced her pretty features even more.

“Right back at you, y girl.”, I said and grinned.

“Ya think? Doesn't it look, like, kinda overdone?”

“Nah, you look beautiful, Trish, don't worry. And your outfit's awesome!”

It really was. She was wearing a black mini dress with silver ornaments. Even though she wasn't very tall, she had a curvy body and her heels let her legs appear longer.

“I like your outfit, too.” She grinned. “And damn, girl, where did you hide your gorgeous legs all this time?”

It felt really good to see her smile again. After yesterday, I thought that she would resent me. I noticed that her eyes weren't puffy and red as before but she still looked tired.

As if she could read my mind, she turned serious all of a sudden. After quickly glancing around the room, she leaned forward. “Did you talk to Wooyoung Sunbae this morning?”, she whispered.

“Uh...no, not really.”

She widened her eyes. “What? Did he avoid you? Or maybe he doesn't remember? I mean, you did say that he was drunk.”

“I don't know. When I tried to talk to him about yesterday, he just cut me off. What does that mean?”

“So it seems like he does remember yesterday and apparently, he doesn't want to talk about it.”

“Huh.”

“But he's a professional, so there's no need to worry. He won't let his personal feelings interfere with his work.”

“That's not what I'm worrying about, Trish.”

“Then what's worrying you?”

“I'm worried about him. I'm feeling guilty for what has happened yesterday.”

“I'm not lying to you, it's really your fault.” When I sighed, she added: “But still, Wooyoung Sunbae shouldn't have attacked Yoseob Sunbae like that.” She paused. “Wait...what is Yoseob Sunbae doing here in Jeju?”

Her sudden question caused me to burst out into laughter. “Trish, we have been talking nonstop about Yoseob Sunbae ever since yesterday and only now did it occur to you to wonder what he's doing here?”

She pouted. “Yeah, well, I have been kinda focusing on that whole Wooyoung Sunbae-attacked-Yoseob Sunbae-thingy, you know.” Then she crossed her arms and arched an eye brow at me. “So, what's he doing here?”

“He's part of the show.”

“And?”

“What 'and'? That's it.”

“Oh, no no no. Don't you act like that. How is he part of the show? I'm pretty sure that he isn't a teacher. I have been watching every broadcasted episode.”

I sighed. “He and s are performing today.”

“So you knew that he would be performing today and you didn't consider that there was no chance that he wouldn't meet Wooyoung Sunbae?”

“I didn't know it. I only found out about it yesterday, when I met Yoseob Sunbae on the terrace.”

“Wow. Only you could get into this kind of situations.”

“Yay, lucky me.”, I said sarcastically.

Then Yunhee came back into the dressing room and told me to get ready. The broadcast was about to start. I took several deep breaths and finally stepped out of the dressing room to walk towards the back of the stage. I could already hear the cheers from the audience. This was making me even more nervous. I have been performing in front of an audience before. But this...this was beyond my imagination. Several thousand pairs of eyes would be focused on me. They would notice every flaw and every mistake I would make. Oh my gosh, this was too much! I tried breathing evenly but I wasn't getting enough air. Oh, great. I was about to perform and now I was hyperventilating. I needed air. I friggin' needed air!

A warm hand on my shoulder pulled me out of my panic state. Turning around, I saw the Beast members smiling at me. Yeah, well, Doojoon, Kikwang and Dongwoon were smiling at me. Junhyung and Hyunseung gave me their typical smirks, and Yoseob, well...he was just looking at me, no facial expression whatsoever.

“You okay?”, Doojoon asked. “You looked like you were on the verge of hyperventilating.”

If only he knew.

“I'm just a bit nervous.”, I said, trying to act cool but my shaking hands were giving me away.

“Is this your first time in front of a big audience?”

I nodded.

“Woah, Ha Ni, don't tell me you you're getting stage fright...?”, Dongwoon asked with a grin.

I pouted. “So what?”

“Don't worry, I saw your practice on television. You'll rock the stage.”, Kikwang said with a smile.

I turned to Hyunseung. “I'm scared of ruining your song.”

“You can't ruin it.”, he said and laughed. “I'm honored that you chose this song.”

I let out a relieved sigh. “Ah, thank you, guys. I really needed this.” I paused. “And I miss you. You guys are way too busy nowadays.”

“You also has a full schedule, Ha Ni. Don't put all the blame on us. “, Junhyung said and chuckled.

Beast's manager approached us and told the guys to change into their stage outfits. One after another, they wished me luck and went towards their waiting room. Only Yoseob stayed behind. He didn't say anything. He just kept looking at me.

Even though I didn't mind to keep staring at his handsome face, this awkward silence was making me feel uncomfortable. My gaze wandered from his face to his throat. And that was when I noticed the band-aid.

Putting aside my conflicted feelings, I rushed towards him. When I slowly reached out with my hand, I saw his gaze following the movement of my hand, but he didn't move. Taking this as a permission, I gently traced my fingers along his throat near the band-aid.

He was injured. Because of me.

I pulled back my hand and took a deep breath, trying to fight back the tears.

“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” My voice broke.

Afraid that he would notice my watery eyes, I took a step back and turned around. But before I could walk away, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into an empty dressing room.

“Wha -”

I was cut off when he pulled me towards him and hugged me tightly, so that my face was pressed against his hard chest. I was totally shocked by his sudden display of affection. But a second later, I recovered and put my arms around his waist, closing the last distance between us. Now it was even harder to fight back the tears.

I have missed it. I've missed being in his strong arms, inhaling his scent....I've missed knowing that he cared for me. And that was when I realized that Trish was right. I did love him. I really loved him. And that scared the out ouf me.

“Are you okay?”, Yoseob whisperd into my ear.

“Shouldn't I be the one asking this? I'm not wearing a band-aid after all.”, I said quietly.

He took a deep breath. Then he slowly let go of me and took a step back. As soon as I didn't feel his warmth anymore, my heart ached. He must've have noticed my expression because he sighed and put a hand on my shoulder.

“I was scared that he would hurt you.”

I knew immediately who he was talking about. “He wouldn't hurt me, Sunbae. I trust him.”

“I know, but I was scared nonetheless.”

“Does it hurt?”, I asked, glancing at his neck.

"No.", he said curtly, avoiding my gaze.

"Your band-aid will raise questions, you know."

He smirked. "I'll say that I cut myself on a ring. Huh. See? That's not even a lie."

Knowing that he took it with humor, didn't ease my guilt at all. I was the reason he got hurt...I felt awful. But beside guilt, there was something else bothering me. One clear emotion that went trough my mind when he has hugged me so tightly earlier.

Love.

Could it really be? Was I really in love with him? But how? My heart was supposed to belong to Wooyoung, only to him. When the heck did I fall in love with Yoseob? Ever since the kiss? No. It started way before the kiss. All those times when I was yearning for his touch, his smile; when I missing him so much that it hurt, when my heart skipped a beat whenever I saw him...had I already been in love with him since then? If yes, that meant that my heart had decided to betray Wooyoung for a long time now. And that made me feel even worse.

And there was still the question whether Yoseob felt the same or not. Because he could be so confusing sometimes. One moment, I was sure that he cared for me, and the next moment, he ignored me and told me that I belonged to Wooyoung. I was eager to know how he felt but then, I was als scared to find out.

I took a deep breath. I've made my decision. It was better to find out now instead of living my life while always asking myself 'What would have been, if'. I was tired of running away.

"Sunbae? There's something I want to -"

"Pssh!", he said and put a hand on my mouth while staring at the door. I could hear faint voices coming from the other side.

"Did you see that Cube trainee? She's supposed to perform soon but I can't find her!", a male voice said.

"Did you look for her in the dressing room?", the female voice asked. The male person must've shook his head because the female person said: "Ok, then you go back to the dressing rooms and I'll look for her in the bathrooms. Now, hurry!"
Then there was only the sound of retreating steps.

"You go out first, Ha Ni. Try to not raise attention on you. If someone asks you, tell them you have been walking around, trying to calm your nerves.", he whispered, after lifting his hand from my mouth.

"And what about you?", I asked quietly.

"I'll wait 5 minutes, before heading to the dressing room." He looked at me for a moment before returning his gaze to the door. "Now, go."

Without turning around, I walked out of the room, making sure that nobody has seen me. Then I walked to the back of the stage, where Wooyoung and Yunhee were already waiting for me.

"Ha Ni, your tardiness seems to turn into a habit! That's not okay, you know.", she said, sounding more than annoyed.

"I'm sorry.", I said.

"Well, at least you still made it on time. You'll get your mic in a second and when the staff gives you the signal, you go out on stage and do your thing. Got it?"

I nodded.

"Well, okay. Good luck." Then she turned to Wooyoung and gave him a bright smile. "I know that you don't need luck, Wooyoung-ah, you'll rock the stage, as usual."

He smirked. "Thank you for your confidence, noona."

"Always a pleasure!", she said and rushed off.

When she was gone, I sighed and turned around, just to see Wooyoung giving me a disapproving look.

Instead of cowering, I arched an eye brow at him.

"What did I told you about that rookie attitude the last time?", he asked.

I let out a frustrated sigh. "I was late because I needed to take a walk."

"And why the heck did you decided to take a walk only moments before your performance?"

"Because it was too much for me. It was either walking around or hyperventilating." My voice dropped. "I've never performed in front of such a big audience before."

His features softened. "I'm sorry. I forgot that it's your first time today."

“I'm okay...I guess.”

“Did that walk help? Could you calm your nerves?”

My nerves? Yeah. But after that little 'conversation' with Yoseob, my emotional state was far from being calm.

“Yeah, a little bit.”, I said.

He sighed. Then he gently cupped my cheek with his hand. “No matter what has happened between us, I'm still your teacher. That's why I want you to know that you're not alone on that stage. I'm there with you. So don't be scared.”

I place my hand on top of his. “Thank you.”

“Well, then let's rock the stage.”, he said and pulled back his hand to walk towards the stage.

Because of his sudden display of affection, I didn't notice that we had been announced. Gosh, what was with these guys and their sudden display of affection towards me today? First Yoseob and his hug and now Wooyoung. This was all confusing the crap out of me.

Pushing aside my troubled emotional state, I took a deep breath and followed Wooyoung. When we walked towards the middle of the stage, the crowd cheered and the spotlight followed us. We took positions and the music started playing.

It was very difficult to concentrate on singing and dancing at the same time while being painfully aware of the big crowd staring and cheering at us. I could feel the panic rising inside of me. It must've shown on my face because the next time Wooyoung stood behind me, he whispered into my ear: “I'm here with you. Only focus on me, Ha Ni.”

And I did what he said. I stopped thinking about the audience and just focused on Wooyoung. His eyes, his nose, his mouth, which was hinting at a smirk.....his soft hands on my shoulders, my arms and my waist....at this moment, it was only us in this big hall, no one else. And that was when I finally had fun. Yes, I forgot all about my nervousness and just had fun! It felt great.

When we posed at the end of the performance, standing face to face, his hands on my waist and my arms loosely around his neck, I gave him a bright smile, expressing all my gratitude for him in that single expression. He responded with a smile of his own. Then the music ended and I took a step back. But just as I wanted to step away, he put his hand on my cheek and placed a soft and chaste kiss on my forehead. The audience's cheer was earsplitting.

When he stepped back and gave me that smug smirk, I could only stare open-mouthed at him. The lights went off. I felt someone grabbing my hand and pulling me backstage. As soon as we were there, he let go of my hand.

Before I could say anything, Trish threw herself at me.

“Oh my gosh, Ha Ni, you were awesome! So y, charismatic....omo, I can't find the right words!”, she gushed.

“Trishie-girl, I want to congratulate our dear Honey, too. Could you please stop monopolizing her?”, Jay said behind her.

Suddenly she tensed. Then she stepped back, not looking at him. “I just wanted to congratulate you and Wooyoung Sunbae. You guys were great!”

“Thanks you, Trish.”, Wooyoung said beside me.

“Well, then, I gotta go. My performance's about to start soon. Gotta go!”, she said and rushed away.

Huh. That was weird.

Jay stepped forward and hugged me. “Trish was right, you were awesome!”

“Thank you, Jay-Jay.”, I said. Then I leaned closer. “What the heck is going on between you and Trish? She's acting weird around you.”

He smiled ruefully. “Isn't she always like that around me?”

“Well yeah, but she's acting even weirder than usual! Now spill the beans, mister.”

If I hadn't been looking intensely at him, I would've missed the flicker of sadness that went through his face before he hid it behind his usual smugness.

“Ask her.”, he just said. Then he grinned at me and walked away.

What the heck was going on today? Everyone was acting so weird!

“You should change into your second outfit, Ha Ni.”, Wooyoung said.

I turned to him. “What will you do now?”

“I'll take a seat in a special row in the audience with the other idol teachers. Our part is done, we'll just be watching from now on.”

“I see.” I paused. “And thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

Without saying anything else, I walked away.

When I arrived at the dressing room, I quickly got out of my troublemaker outfit and put on the clothes for my solo dancing performance. Then I heard the MC announcing Beast. I didn't know why, but before I realized it, I was already running towards the back of the stage. Trish and Jay were already standing there. I didn't miss the huge gap between them.

"You wanna watch, too?", Trish asked me when I stopped next to her.

"Of course."

When I glanced at Jay, I noticed that he was purposely not looking at us. Huh.

"Hey, what's going on between you and Jay?", I asked her.

"Uh, nothing."

"Then why is he standing over there instead of next to us?"

"Ask him."

"Jeez! You guys keep telling me to ask the other person but I'm asking you right now. What is going on?" When she hesitated, I added: "It's me, Trish, you know you can tell me everything."

"Let's talk about this later, okay? Your hubby's performance is about to start."

"He's not my hubby."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure."

Before I could retort, the music started playing. I recognized it immediately. It was their newest song 'It's a beautiful night' from their comeback several months ago. So when it was Yoseob's turn to sing, I couldn't tear my gaze away from him. His voice was and has always been so captivating. Was it possible to fall in love with the voice of a person? Because I surely did.

And he was so handsome. Especially when he was singing. I could hear and feel his passion through his voice and I could also see it through the way he was moving on stage. It was clear that he loved performing for his fans. And this made him even more charismatic than he already was.

"Ha Ni, stop drooling or you'll ruin my outfit with your spit.", Trish said and chuckled.

"Hey, I'm not drooling!"

“Maybe not physically, but I know that you are mentally drooling over that eye candy over there.", she said and pointed at Yoseob who was now standing at the front of the stage.

"Trish..."

She put her hands up in defense. "Okay, sorry, I'll stop."

When a staff member called Trish over, I approached Jay. "Hey there, stranger."

He smiled. "Wow, finally you decided to grace me with your presence?"

"You know that it's not fair of you guys to exclude me from your obvious dispute and them force me to choose sides.", I said and sighed.

His face fell. "I know. And I'm sorry, Ha Ni."

Wow. He just called me 'Ha Ni' instead of 'Honey'. Things must've been pretty serious.

"So, you gonna tell me now what's going on?"

He sighed. "I can't."

"Why?"

"Because if Trish hasn't told you yet, it's pretty clear that she doesn't want you to know."

"And you gonna do everything Trish says?"

"In this case, yes."

"You guys are pissing me off with your games. I want the old Trish and Jay back. Those who didn't avoid each other and those who didn't keep secrets from me."

"Keeping secrets, huh? Like you did, you mean?", he asked dryly.

"I...what?"

"You heard me. Because I can't remember you telling us anything about your love triangle with our Sunbaes."

"What's between them and me is none of your business, Jay."

He glared at me. "Yeah, exactly. Just like what's between Trish and me is none of your business, Ha Ni." With that, he turned around and walked away, leaving me standing there in confusion.

What has happened? Why were they acting so weird today? I couldn't remember them acting like this yesterday. So what could've happened between yesterday night and this morning to cause their weird behavior? I did recall Trish being bothered by seeing Jay flirting and dancing with Bomi but that didn't explain why Jay would keep his distance from Trish. Ah, this was so confusing!

"Ha Ni!", someone shouted, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I turned around to see the Beast boys walking towards me.

"Ah, our very own fangirl! Do you want an autograph?", Doojoon asked and winked at me.

I grinned. "Yes but I want one from Kikwang Sunbae!"

The guys erupted into laughter while Doojoon pouted. "Aaw, I thought I was your favorite, Ha Ni."

"You were. But Kikwang Sunbae's eye smile won me over."

Kikwang put an arm around my shoulder. "Sorry, Hyung. Seems like you have one less fan."

“Oh, shush! I'll win her back.", he said and pushed Kikwang's arm off my shoulder.

They kept arguing on their way back to the dressing room. When Yoseob walked past me, he patted my head and whispered: "Good luck, Ha Ni." Then he was gone.

I couldn't help but smile at his words.

When it was my turn, my happy mood disappeared and panic started to rise. How the heck was I going to be an idol if I couldn't fight my stage fright? Ha Ni, focus!

While standing on stage, I was looking for familiar faces in the audience. The first person I found was Seungho. He was sitting in the first row, next to Hyorin and someone else I didn't know. When he saw me looking at him, he gave me an ecouraging smile. I smiled back. When I kept on looking around, I found Wooyoung, sitting several seats away from Seungho but also in the first row. Unlike Seungho, he didn't smile. I only got his usual blank face but I noticed that his gaze kept flicking behind me. When I glanced back, I saw that he kept looking at the spot where I was talking to the Beast boys several minutes ago. The spot where Yoseob also patted my head.

Ah, crap. He must've have seen us. Even though it was just an innocent pat on the head, it seems like it still bothered him. Once again, I managed to get Yoseob in trouble. Great. Just great.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when the music started playing. I immedately banned all thoughts about Trish and Jay, and Yoseob and Wooyoung out of my head and concentrated on my performance. This was what I had been practicing for the last months. This was the only thing that mattered right now.

I let the music sink into my body. All those late nights I have been practicing on my own, all the scolding I had to endure...I turned off my mind and put all the energy into this performance to show them the result of my hard work. Only when the music stopped playing, did I turn my mind back on to hear the audience cheering and clapping their hands for me. Relieved, I smiled and bowed. Then I walked towards the back of the stage. I passed Trish on my way back. Seems like it was her turn now. I gave her an encouraging smile. She smiled back and continued walking towards the stage. I wanted to stay and watch her performance but I needed to get ready for the next part of the competition. Now, based on our opening performance and our dancing solo, we would be judged by the jury, which consisted of a well-known vocal coach and dance coach. This would be our first round of elimination. The remaining trainees would continue to show off their vocal skills through the following solo singing performance. After another elimination round, the last remaining two would face each other in a battle round to determine the winner of this competition.

Knowing that I was about to face an elimination, my body started trembling because of the rising nervousness.

After getting my makeup re-adjusted, I started walking slowly towards the stage for the elimination round. One after another, we were called. When I heard my name, I took a deep breath and walked onto the stage. Unexpectedly, the audience was cheering loudly for me. I smiled shyly at the crowd when I stopped next to Bomi.

"Don't think that this means anything. They has been cheering for everyone like this.", she whispered.

I chose to ignore her.

When all trainees were on stage, the MC also called for the idol teachers. One after another, they stood up from their seats and walked towards the stage. They passed us from behind to stand next to their students. When Seungho passed me, I felt his hand gently patting my back. Without turning around, I just smiled. My smile was just slightly interrupted, when I felt a warm presence next to me. I looked up and saw Wooyoung looking back at me, his usual blank expression replaced by a smug smirk.

"Holy moly.", Bomi whispered.

I saw her looking awe-struck at him. Yeah, he kinda had that same effect on me.

"Now that the teachers had joined their students, it's time for our jury to speak up!", the MC announced. "Park Sanghyun-ssi, what do you think of our dear Trainee from J-Tune, Park Jihoon?"

"Very talented, indeed. Especially during your solo dance performance, I couldn't find any flaws.", Park Sanghyun, the dance coach, said. "Whereas during the opening performance, I have to say..."

And on and on it went. They talked about every trainee, judging their skills during their two performances.

When it was my turn, I tensed. Wooyoung put a hand on my shoulder and whispered: "Relax."

"And what do you have to say about our charming Trainee from Cube, Jung Ha Ni?", the MC asked.

The dance coach smiled. "She's a very charismatic young lady. I was already blown away by her first performance. At first, it may have seem as if she would panic, judging by the look in her eyes during the beginning, but she excellently caught herself. After that I only saw raw passion in her eyes." He paused while the audience was cheering. "And I could see the same passion during your second performance. Now, as a dance coach, I have to say that I have noticed some flaws, for example you seem to struggle with your balance, but overall, it was great!"

"You and your balance. Huh. I don't want to say this but this situation calls for it: I've told you so.", Wooyoung whispered and chuckled quietly. I shot him a quick glare, fhen turned back to the audience with a smile.

"And what does Choi Donghun-ssi have to say about Ha Ni-ssi?"

"I can only repeat what Park Sanghyun-ssi just said. And I want to add that, though we got a 'preview' of her vocal skills during the opening performance, I can't wait to listen to her voice during the solo singing performance.", he said and smiled.

"Oh, is this some kind of hint? Does this mean that Ha Ni-ssi won't be eliminated yet?", the MC asked.

"We will see.", the vocal coach just said.

I was too excited from what the vocal coach said. He couldn't wait to listen to my voice during my solo singing performance? This could only mean that I really wasn't eliminated yet!

After that, it was time for the elimation itself. There were 8 Trainees altogether. During this round, 3 trainees were supposed to be elimnated. During the next elimination 3 more trainees would have to leave, so that in the end, there would be only 2 left for the final battle.

Behind us, the big screen lit up, revealing all our pictures in a row. Beneath them were empty boxes. If you passed this round, you would get a green circle in your box. If not, there would be a red cross under your picture.

The suspense rose while everyone was staring at the monitor.

"So who will continue and who will leave us? Reveal it........now!", the MC announced.

As on cue, the monitor turned white for a moment. I could feel the tension in this hall. Seconds later, our pictures were back on, only this time, there were several crosses and circles under them. I quickly looked for my picture. There, near the end, I found it. And...there was a green circle beneath it. Oh my gosh, I did it! I passed this round!

"Congrats, Ha Ni.", Wooyoung said.

I turned to him and smiled. He returned my smile.

Everyone was clapping loudly for us. The remaining trainess bowed and went backstage. The eliminated trainees joined us several seconds later.

Just then did I notice that Trish was one of them. The other 2 were Yumi and Megan.

I went straight to Trish and hugged her. “Oh Trish, tell me this is not happening.”, I whined.

She smiled ruefully. “It's okay, Ha Ni. I just couldn't focus on the competition today with everything that's going on in my mind.”

“I'm sorry, it's all my fault.”

She stepped back and crossed her arms, while giving me a stern look. “Oh no, don't you dare blame yourself for everything again! It's my fault for not paying much attention to the competition. And just so you know, what's troubling me right now has nothing to do with you, babo.” Then she grinned. “And you totally deserve to get to the next round! You were great! Those jury members were practically gushing all over you!”

And with that, Trish transformed back to her usual self. We talked for a moment about the other remaining trainees. With Trish, Yumi and Megan being eliminated, the ones left were Jay, Jihoon, Bomi, Mei and me.

They were tough competitors. I knew that Jay was a dance prodigy and his singing wasn't bad. From what I've seen so far, Jihoon was also an excellent dancer, though Jay was better, and judging from his first performance, his singing skills were just slightly better than Jay's. Mei's dancing skills were amazing as well. She was one of the few whose dancing and singing skills were balanced. The only ones whose main strength lay in singing were Bomi and me. I saw that her dancing skills were kinda on the same level as mine.

Ah, that was going to be very exhausting.

When we finished talking about the trainees, Trish told me that she had to go join the idol teachers in the audience for the remaining parts of the competition. She said that she would cheer for Jay and me.

When she left, I sighed. I had really hope that we three, Jay, Trish and me, would make it till the end. But then I thought about competing against them. We were friends but this time, we were also rivals. Because friends or not, I wanted to win.

On my way back to the dressing rooms, I saw Jay and Jihoon talking to each other. They were laughing and when I saw the water bottles in their hands, I suddenly noticed how thirsty I was.

“Guys, where can I get water? My throat feels so dry!”, I exclaimed when I joined them.

Jay grinned. “Honey! How's my beautiful rival doing?”

“If you expect me to tell you that I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown, I have to disappoint you, Jay-Jay. I'm feeling great right now!”, I said and chuckled.

“Uh oh, Jay, seems like she's up for the battle. We need to watch our backs.”, Jihoon said and laughed.

“Yes, don't underestimate me just because I'm a girl.”

“I never underestimated you, Ha Ni.”, Jihoon said, way too serious for my own comfort.

“Uh...okay.”, I said.

Jay, noticing the rising tension, quickly said: “Let's do our best and have fun! There's no need for hostile feelings.”

“No hostile feelings from my side.”, Jihoon said and grinned.

“Same here.”, I added.

“Well, good. And now we should head back to the dressing rooms to get ready for the next round.”, Jay said.

“You go ahead, I need to talk to Ha Ni for a moment.” When I gave him a questioning look, he added: “About, well, you know, yesterday.”

Oh. He must've meant the incident on terrace. I groaned inwardly. I was so not ready to talk about it with someone I barely knew, but considering the fact that he stood by my side yesterday, he deserved to know the truth. Well, part of it.

When Jay was gone, I turned to him. “Jihoon, I didn't get to thank you for your help yesterday. Well, thank you. It means a lot to me.”

“How much?”

“What?”, I asked confusedly.

“Well, how much does it mean to you? What are you willing to pay for me to keep quiet?”

And took me a while to register what he just said. And when it finally dawned on me, especially with the evil smile he was giving me, my eyes widened and I took a step back.

“Are you blackmailing me?”

**********************************************************************

A/N:

Hi there ~

Here I am again with another update!

I hope you like it :)

Please comment to let me know what you think about it!

I really LOVE reading the comments ^___^